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That sounds a might uncomfortable

No doubt! Did you catch the conversation between the CG aircrew when they spotted it? They said they had never seen a black liferaft before.

I'm not affiliated with MAD, but I just thought I'd throw a post up here for anyone that may not read the Carolinas forum.....Military Appreciation Day 4 (MAD4) is coming up in Morehead City, NC on May 30th.This is a great cause, as it is a way of thanking those who serve our country. MAD4 needs a little help. It's my understanding that in spite of the hard work by HOTSPOT, Scott K, RobbieDon, and many others, there are currently not enough boats signed up to get all of America's Finest that are signed up out fishing. Here are a few ways you can help: 1. If you are close enough, sign up to volunteer yourself and your boat to take some of our troops out fishing. (I did) 2. Donate money to help hire charter boats. http://www.militaryappreciationday.org/phpBB3/donate.php 3. Donate items for the fund raising raffle. http://www.militaryappreciationday.org/phpBB3/donate.php 4. Buy raffle tickets to help with the fund raising. There's a list of great prizes. http://www.militaryappreciationday.org/phpBB3/raffle.php 5. Contact HOTSPOT to find out other ways that you can help

I was going to....then I wasn't....Then I was again....Now I'm not. Tomorrow isn't here yet, though, so it still may happen!

Pretty wild looking boat.....If they painted it black they could pass it off as the Bat Boat. I bet Batman is pi$$ed.

I wondered about that too. It makes sense to me that the ecosystem would make a substantial shift with a change in the predatory hierarchy, but wiped out reefs does sound a bit extreme. Maybe there's a marine biologist on here that can explain it to us.

Cats AND Squirrels are nothing more than rats with good PR.

I definitely wouldn't have put my daughter out of the car. This sounds like an Amber Alert waiting to happen. There are other ways to make your point...I'm thinking a good old fashioned @$$ whoopin' would have been the ticket.

Interesting article...I can attest to the fact that there are bunches of them off NC. They are probably close to the most common fish I see when I dive wrecks here. I just recently learned that you could eat them....someone posted a youtube link to a video about how to prep them not long ago on THaT other site....I thought it was a joke at first, but the guys that did the video claim they're delicious.

This one's not bad....I found it on the web: http://www.cnsm.csulb.edu/services/safety/...loat%20Plan.xls You just need to change the vessel names and the emergency contacts to suit you/your area

Billy Mays comes through!

Transporting the motor to where the jon boat is located?

Transporting the motor to the cabin where the jon boat is located?

Good news is, I finally signed up....On the other hand, I know of three other soldiers signing up, so me signing up doesn't help much with the 32 mentioned above. I do know some other guys with boats...I'll try to get them to sign up.

Your chain has been pulled...Big Al knows where the Bilge is.

Jacobi- You work on the Olympus? I've done a few dives off of that boat. Damn shame about George passing away last year. I didn't know him well, but he was sure a nice guy and interesting to talk to. The diving community won't be the same without him.

Albemarle?

OK- I have another one: This one isn't exactly a FISHING story, but we've all seen a monumental screw-up at the boat ramp, and I had one. My Dad had sailboats when I was growing up, so at one point in my life I HAD to have a sailboat. I bought a used Hunter 23, and spent months fixing it up. It was a thing of beauty. Maybe nicer than it was when it rolled off the assembly line. (indulge me here). The first time we took it out, we went to Corpus Christi, TX to launch in CC Bay. My best friend and I stepped the mast in record time and had her ready to go. I backed her down the ramp with my wife's brand new Tahoe until the back tires were right at the edge of the water, but she was still holding on to the trailer. My buddy was on the boat and I could tell that she wanted to come off of the trailer, so I got out of the Tahoe and gave her a push. Everything kind of went into slow motion as the boat still held fast to the trailer but my Wife's brand new Tahoe began to slide in the algae under the back tires. In a state of panic, I lunged for the driver's seat of the Tahoe and planted my foot on the brake, but not before my wife's brand new Tahoe was submerged up to the base of the back seat in Corpus Christi Bay. I tried to put it in gear, but of course, it only spun. A kind soul who was watching the whole thing threw me a rope and we towed the Tahoe out of the water, but not before soaking the carpet in the passenger area and flooding the exhaust system (which really plays havoc with the oxygen sensor). My buddy and I spent the rest of the evening hunting down an auto parts store to buy tools and removing the cargo area carpet, steam cleaning it at a carwash, and attempting to pump enough alcohol into my wife to head off the haranguing that deservedly came with my afternoon's poor judgment. Eventually she saw the humor in it, the exhaust system dried out and began to function normally, and the carpet dried out....we still have an occasional laugh about that more than 10 years later!

You're not off base at all....I'm right there with you. In my world, kids drive used cars and learn respect for cars and the money and Parents who provide them. That said: when I was 16 (this was also in the early 80's) I did pretty much what that kid did except in a ten year old Ford Courier a telephone pole. My Dad reacted exactly like you said yours would have! My Daughter is destined to have the same parental experience that I did, and I have to tell you....my parents are the reason that I turned out OK. I was not a teenager that I would want to be the parent of, but good parenting was what made it all work out. You can bet that I worked off the cost of that telephone pole ($1650) , the truck ($2000) and then some (Dad had some stress that needed to be compensated) and I would have damn sure worked off your fence, just as my own daughter will (God forbid) if she makes the mistakes I did.

Totally agree, Bob...But sometimes getting paid doesn't involve money if you know what I mean! Cheers!

I'm not sure I buy into the whole feng shui livewell thing, but just in case I ever do: I changed out the top on mine from acrylic to starboard and increased the insulation because I don't fish live bait very often....the idea being that when I'm not fishing live bait it serves very well as a 180 quart cooler. I haven't had any problem with the bait....they seem fine in the dark, but does anyone have any thoughts on whether I should add a livewell light? Perhaps a blue one?

Works for me...."The Bilge" sucked me in to some conversations that I'd rather just avoid in the future. I won't miss it! Bob- I think you & I even went a couple of rounds in the bilge at one time, but in truth, I think you're a great guy!

Azek is used for decks...I think it would probably work OK for gunnels as far as strength and durability, but I'm not sure how it would look...it has kind of a "rough cut" surface, so my thought is that it might look a bit unfinished for a boat. On the other hand, it would have good non-skid properties for that same reason.

I didn't notice you were in Fayetteville....it would be no problem to meet up w/ you. I'm really not worried about any compensation...I really don't need the foil, so If it helps somebody out I'm good with that.

Semi- My current boat is the first one I've owned with tabs....I bought one of those (the same one) before learning that tabs were all I needed so it was on the boat for a couple of months and it's been sitting in the garage ever since. It was very easy to put on. All you do is remove the trim tab behind the prop (one bolt) then slide the thing on and bolt the trim tab back on-that's what holds it. If you want it, shoot me a PM...If you'll cover shipping I'll send it to you.